LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Ichikawa Lab
Machine-translated · View original
An astronomy lab that explores the growth and final stages of supermassive black holes through observation.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how supermassive black holes grow and meet their end
Ichikawa Lab studies how the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies grow and how they meet their end.
It is an observational astronomy lab that uses observational and public data in X-ray, infrared, radio, and other wavelengths to study active galactic nuclei and the growth of supermassive black holes.
The lab also works on uncovering astronomical and meteorological phenomena preserved in historical records.
Associate Professor Kohei Ichikawa, the head of the lab, has been affiliated with the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences since October 2025.
Key terms
- Supermassive black hole
- A black hole thought to lie at the center of a galaxy, with a mass far greater than that of the Sun
- Active galactic nucleus
- The central region of a galaxy that shines brightly as matter falls onto the supermassive black hole at its center. Also called an AGN
- Quasar
- An especially bright type of active galactic nucleus
ResearchResearch themes
The lab is built around the big question of how supermassive black holes grow and how they meet their end. From the standpoint of observational astronomy, using observational data and publicly available data, it approaches this question from several directions.
*Illustrative imageSearching for dying active galactic nuclei
The lab aims to capture through observation the final stage in which an active galactic nucleus ends its activity. In the galaxy Arp 187, it examined the surroundings of the center from small to large scales and found a dying active galactic nucleus.
*Illustrative imageThe upper limit of supermassive black hole mass
By examining a large number of quasars selected from SDSS, the lab showed that the fraction of radio-loud quasars increases when the black hole mass exceeds about 2 billion times the mass of the Sun. The lab says this supports the view that the upper limit of the mass is set by small-scale physics of the disk around the black hole.
*Illustrative imageThe dusty torus and its link to the central region
The lab investigated the dusty torus surrounding the center of an active galactic nucleus and its connection to the central region. From infrared data of active galactic nuclei selected in an X-ray all-sky survey, it found a good correlation between X-ray and mid-infrared brightness.
*Illustrative imageDust-obscured active galactic nuclei
The lab investigated how many dust-obscured active galactic nuclei are contained in infrared-bright galaxies. Spectroscopic observations by AKARI show that their fraction increases with infrared brightness, while suggesting that most of the infrared emission comes from star formation.
MembersFaculty
The members of Ichikawa Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorKohei Ichikawa
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Ichikawa Lab
Yamada LabFaculty of Science, Department of Astronomy and GeophysicsMultiwavelength astronomy, active galactic nuclei, galaxies,…
Salak LabFaculty of Science, Department of Astronomy and GeophysicsGalactic astronomy (star formation, AGN, radio astronomy); i…
Noda LabFaculty of Science, Department of Astronomy and GeophysicsX-ray astronomy; observations of black holes and active gala…
Murayama LabFaculty of Science, Department of Astronomy and GeophysicsObservational studies of active galactic nuclei and of galax…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images.
- Top image: “Montage of the Event Horizon Telescope observatories (night) (eso2208-eht-mwg)” ESO/M. Kornmesser. Images of individual telescopes: ALMA: ESO. APEX: ESO. LMT: INAOE Archives. GLT: N. Patel. JCMT: EAO-W. Montgomerie. SMT: D. Harvey. 30m: N. Billot. SPT: Wikipedia. SMA: S. R. Schimpf. NOEMA: IRAM. Kitt Peak: Wikipedia Milky Way: N. Risinger (skysurvey.org) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Searching for dying active galactic nuclei: “Hubble Sights Galaxy in Transition (NGC 1266)” Image credit: NASA, ESA, K. Alatalo (STScI); Image Processing: G. Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) / Public domain (cropped)
- The upper limit of supermassive black hole mass: “Black Hole Merger” NASA/CXC/A.Hobart / Public domain (cropped)
- The dusty torus and its link to the central region: “Illustration of Active Galactic Nucleus (2007-agns - accretiondisk torus)” NASA/CXC/Ohio State Univ./J.Eastman et al / Public domain (cropped)
- Dust-obscured active galactic nuclei: “Artist’s impression of a dusty starburst galaxy (eso1817c)” ESO/M. Kornmesser / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yamada Lab): “Chandra X-ray Observatory after release from Space Shuttle Columbia” NASA/STS-93/Cady Coleman / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Salak Lab): “Giant Microwave Radio Telescope” Igoressen / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Noda Lab): “Chandra X-Ray Observatory (noirlab2427c)” NASA/CXC & J.Vaughan / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Murayama Lab): “Messier83 - Heic1403a” Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgement: William Blair (Johns Hopkins University) / Public domain (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.